EcoBliss: Rock Magic

A collection of purchased gems and rocks from our lake.

Listening to: This would have been popular when I was around 3, and then by the time I got to high school, they were so schmarmy. But now...I'm a sucker for a good brass section.

Today's Bliss Formula: Such a perfect summer for a heat-hater! Today, I think, a bike ride is in order. And it's time to replant some of the lettuce beds to keep our rabbit in home grown lettuce well into the fall.

When I was little, I was friends with a girl who adored rocks. She had boxes and jars of rocks in her otherwise lacy, girly bedroom. And when I visited, she would pull them out and show me rock after rock, remembering with fondness where she found each one.

I thought, "God! They're just rocks!"

I tolerated this rock-love because she was so fun otherwise.

It turns out that my partner, Frog, was one of those little girls who collected rocks with a passion, everywhere she went picking up a new find. So when I told her of my friend's vast collection, she simply drooled -- though it was meant to be a funny story!

And now I'm a rock girl. Oh my, how did this happen?

It happened the same way my love of trees and the night sky and the birds happened -- I started to notice the details of all the beauty around me. I started wondering exactly what bird and what tree that was. I started looking at sky charts.

And I started noticing that below my feet, glistening under the sun-dappled water, there lay a collection of jewels.

I started noticing that even when I took them home, after they had dried, they still smelled of the lake.

In the winter, when I wasn't getting to the lake, I felt like I had a bit of her in my orange writing room, resting on the top shelf of my half-wall book shelves. When I turned on the small lamp above them, they glittered.

Then I started putting them in a large fish bowl and filling that water just to see that summer shine at all times of the year.

All of this and I finally realized the power of rocks -- these bits of specific earth we can carry around in our pockets, in our bags with our journals. Bits of beach I could lay next to Kuan Yin or in front of a cat's picture.

Grounding. These rocks taught me how grounded in this place I am. When we dig for a plant in the back yard and find a rock with a shell embedded in it, we are reminded that the lake that is now 2 miles north of us used to cover where our house now stands.

Suddenly geology was magical. And this led, finally, to my own use of them as talismen, my discovery that each one contains a bit of specific magic -- just like it comes from a specific place.

Here's a little sampling of rock magic. No need to take it seriously; I see it as play -- play being the most magical activity of all.

Amazonite and pink calcite and hematite are good for centering yourself.

Jasper is a blessing stone.

Carnelian and lapis lazuli and moonstone increase and support creativity.

For energy, carry around quartz or tigereye or tourmaline.

Speaking of grounding, try onyx or peridot.

To get insight into a situation, get some emerald or tanzanite.

Amber and garnet help with manifesting your dreams and goals.

The stones of peace include blue lace agate and chalcedony and jade and zircon.

Apache tear and opal help with sight.

And bloodstone is, of course, the stone of the warrior.

All of these come from a wonderful book by Eileen Holland -- Grimoire of Magickal Correspondences, which I love to play around with, especially if I am creating a new altar space.

Every single thing of this planet has a vibration -- why not surround yourself with helpful vibrations? Think of it as rock music!